1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to interaction with televisions and more specifically to control of a cursor on a television utilizing a wireless remote control device.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic programming guide on a television can behave in many ways similar to applications on a personal computer. However, televisions do not have cursors and cursor control devices built in as do personal computers. Moreover, the typical user on a couch is not in a position to efficiently use a conventional mouse or trackball. One alternative currently in use is a tiny black ball, integrated as a trackball into an infrared remote control, but this arrangement can be hard to handle. Also, to untrained users, such a device may seem awkward because it lacks the intuitive nature of pointing to an object with the remote control.
Another alternative in current use utilizes selection control arrow keys, which allow a selection highlight in a program to be moved in one of four directions depending on which arrow key is pressed. Again, this lacks the intuitive nature of pointing to an object. Furthermore, objects on the screen may not simply be left, right, up or down from adjacent objects, leading to unexpected jumps in the selection highlight.
Therefore, what may be advantageous is a remote control device that allows a user to point to an object on a television screen and then allows the user to choose the selected object on the television screen.